Achieving tissue-level softness on stretchable electronics through a generalizable soft interlayer design

Yang Li, Nan Li, Wei Liu, Aleksander Prominski, Seounghun Kang, Yahao Dai, Youdi Liu, Huawei Hu, Shinya Wai, Shilei Dai, Zhe Cheng, Qi Su, Ping Cheng, Chen Wei, Lihua Jin, Jeffrey A. Hubbell, Bozhi Tian and Sihong Wang ()
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Yang Li: The University of Chicago
Nan Li: The University of Chicago
Wei Liu: The University of Chicago
Aleksander Prominski: The University of Chicago
Seounghun Kang: The University of Chicago
Yahao Dai: The University of Chicago
Youdi Liu: The University of Chicago
Huawei Hu: The University of Chicago
Shinya Wai: The University of Chicago
Shilei Dai: The University of Chicago
Zhe Cheng: The University of Chicago
Qi Su: The University of Chicago
Ping Cheng: The University of Chicago
Chen Wei: University of California Los Angeles
Lihua Jin: University of California Los Angeles
Jeffrey A. Hubbell: The University of Chicago
Bozhi Tian: The University of Chicago
Sihong Wang: The University of Chicago

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Soft and stretchable electronics have emerged as highly promising tools for biomedical diagnosis and biological studies, as they interface intimately with the human body and other biological systems. Most stretchable electronic materials and devices, however, still have Young’s moduli orders of magnitude higher than soft bio-tissues, which limit their conformability and long-term biocompatibility. Here, we present a design strategy of soft interlayer for allowing the use of existing stretchable materials of relatively high moduli to versatilely realize stretchable devices with ultralow tissue-level moduli. We have demonstrated stretchable transistor arrays and active-matrix circuits with moduli below 10 kPa—over two orders of magnitude lower than the current state of the art. Benefiting from the increased conformability to irregular and dynamic surfaces, the ultrasoft device created with the soft interlayer design realizes electrophysiological recording on an isolated heart with high adaptability, spatial stability, and minimal influence on ventricle pressure. In vivo biocompatibility tests also demonstrate the benefit of suppressing foreign-body responses for long-term implantation. With its general applicability to diverse materials and devices, this soft-interlayer design overcomes the material-level limitation for imparting tissue-level softness to a variety of bioelectronic devices.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40191-3

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